Members of the Guild of Travel Management Companies enjoyed a record year in 2006 after strong fourth quarter figures.
The travel management companies made more than 3 million bookings in the period, 15% more than in the same period a year earlier.
This took the year-end total to more than 12.4 million transactions, an increase of 9% – or more than one million bookings – on the previous year, and the highest ever recorded.
“By any standard, this is an extraordinary result,” said chief executive Philip Carlisle. “Our members reported consistent quarterly increases throughout 2006, so we were always going to top the 2005 total.
“However, the sheer scale of the fourth-quarter increases was frankly remarkable, with double-digit growth across all sectors except car hire.”
The statistics come from the Guild’s latest Quarterly Transaction Survey, which was started in 2003 to track the post-9/11 corporate travel recovery process.
Although precise figures for millennium year 2000 are not available, the total was well below 12 million.
GTMC chairman Paul Allan, of Middlesex-based Ian Allan Travel, says: “To say that British business has ‘bounced back’ from the dark days of 2001 is an understatement. Our members handle in excess of 75% of all corporate travel bookings made in the UK, and we have now seen five consecutive years of consistent growth.
“British companies are travelling more frequently, and farther afield, in their quest for new business opportunities, to the overall benefit of the UK economy.
“These figures underline the preposterous nature of Chancellor Gordon Brown’s decision to increase the pernicious Air Passenger Duty. Instead of trying to encourage Britain’s international business, he seems set on placing barriers in the path of economic growth.”
The biggest year-on-year percentage increase was in “other” transactions (up 15%), which include travel insurance, airport car parking, and passport and visa services.
By Bev Fearis
